Drawing Skills : Learning Log : Assignment 3 - Drawing Outdoors

PART 3 : DRAWING OUTDOORS

General Update

This section has had its ups and downs.

It took some time for me to get into the swing of things. I had a bit of a wobble in the second quarter of this year when my son’s health deteriorated again. We were back to the worry and the run of clinics and appointments and I had neither the time nor the heart for much else. Fortunately the break over the Summer did him good, he is now in much better form and when he’s happy, I’m happy.

The drawing course I applied for didn’t work out as planned: only 3 people applied for the Beginner’s course so it was cancelled. Instead we were offered places on the intermediate course – which I took, but this was very different to what I expected. There weren’t classes as such, instead people worked away individually on whatever pieces they wanted to do and the tutor would come around and give pointers. There was a very pleasant atmosphere in the class  and the nights flew,  but I still feel very much at a loss for the basics.

On the plus side, I leant how to use coloured pencils and I really enjoyed working in these in the Landscape Drawing project. I also tried wax pastels – with less success.

On the down side, we were of necessity working from photos, and I tended to revert to drawing the objects rather than assessing the overall composition, light and shade etc. I had problems with this when I set into drawing from life for my exercises.

Once I did settle back in, I really enjoyed the drawing exercises and will be getting a voucher towards drawing lessons (yet to be tracked down) for my Christmas present.

Assignment Three

In Assessment Submission

I’m a bit disappointed with how this went. I was very happy with the earlier landscape drawings I had done in coloured pencil and thought I’d be able to put in a really good piece for this.

In Assessment Submission

Composition: I had a few options but was most attracted to the view of the shed with some trees and a house in the background. I did a few preliminary drawings and then decided to put the focus on the shed  with two different trees looming behind..
I think this may have been a mistake: when I was pulling the material together to send off, I felt a composition that included the house and trees would have been stronger. I’m going to try this out over the Christmas and see how it goes.

In Assessment Submission

Media: I experimented with a few options: coloured pencil, pen and watercolours ( first time using these). I really liked the drawing I did in pen and watercolour and decided to use these for the final drawing, with some pencil layered in.

I’m happy with the depth of tone I achieved, but think the drawing feels a bit stilted.

Preparation:

 I’m doing a number of preliminary sketches, but not sure if I’m approaching them correctly…by the time I get to the final drawing I seem to have lost a lot of enegy and enthusiasm for the subject and the drawing gets much blander. Need help with this.

Project   Landscape Drawing.

I found these exercises difficult to begin with – it was hard to know what to focus on and how much detail to include.

Simplifying and selecting :For the sketchbook walks I tried to pick a focal point or area of interest and work around that- and this was really at the expense of noticing recurring shapes, patterns and textures.

These came more to the fore in the 360 studies where I had to use shape and tone to evoke the landscape in the allotted 15 minutes. I really enjoyed these and was amazed by the difference in aspect for each one.

Sense of distance and form: I tried to create this by having more detail and shading in items on the foreground, with this becoming more toned down for items in the middleground and the background quite indistinct.

Plotting space through composition and structure. I loved this exercise and worked through some of it in the first few evening classes I took.

In Assessment Submission

My first attempt was based on a photo I had taken of  run-down stables. I probably put too much emphasis on the stables as the focal point and I didn’t make enough of a distinction between the different areas.

In Assessment Submission

My second attempt was based on a photo from a calendar which I thought I could use. I put emphasis on detail, form and texture to make the foreground come forward and reduced the extent of these as I went farther back. The sense of distance was heightened by a lane that disappeared into the middle ground. I really enjoyed how the detailed work, which was a mass of marks up close, was so impactful  when viewed at arms length.

Light and shade: I got better at using this I went along: the sketchbook walk shows little variation in light and shade, but by the plotting space exercises I was using light and shade to emphasize form and texture and give a sense of distance.
I find it easier to distinguish light and shade when working from the photos...much harder to do when faced with the landscape itself...hope this will improve n time.

Other : I enjoyed using the eraser to draw clouds though it’s not a technique I used in my later exercises as the media I used didn’t lend themselves to it.

Project   Perspective.

I went into this with some trepidation - deservedly so as it transpired.

Problems in execution: While I felt I understood the logic of the concepts, I came a cropper with the practicalities.

In the parallel perspective exercises I kept pitching the horizon line too low and the angles from the ceiling down weren’t acute enough.

I really struggled with angular perspective : again I had difficulty with the horizon line and couldn’t establish where the vanishing points should be. My angles were off and though I knew they looked wrong, I didn’t know how to correct them.

Use of a ruler :  I can see how using a ruler might help but that assumes your angles are correct in the first place.

I also found out my verticals weren’t straight, so my buildings were toppling. I had to start using a ruler to get these right but the drawings were more stilted / like tech drawing as a result.

Project   Townscapes.

I enjoyed these once I got over the discomfort of being out and about sketching, though due to the time of year I worked mainly from the car.

Study of Townscape using line.

I did this in Macroom an old market town near where I live. The town is hilly with a number of narrow streets and old shop fronts. I chose a view looking down from a side street onto the main street. I did a first sketch in pencil and then a further drawing in pen. The pen drawing was a disaster…I was trying to show the texture and shadows on the buildings in the foreground and completely overworked it, so that there is little or no tonal contrast. I’ll need to get help in using pen as a drawing medium. Having looked up some drawing manuals I think I might have been better using pen and wash.

Sketchbook of Townscape Drawings

I took 2 runs at this in two different locations. The first time I had difficulty getting decent preliminary sketches that I could use.

Prelimimary sketches: I found these really helpful in terms of helping me to (i)hone in on what it was that I wanted to convey about the buildings (ii) identify the main areas of light and shade - a weak area of mine.I worked mainly from these but also had taken photographs in case I needed further detail.

Use of limited colour palette:

I’m not sure I did this correctly. I used the black and white to emphasis the features and brickwork of the old building in the foreground while the buildings in the background had shading but very little detail. of the

A different approach: I made two attempts at this.. The first time I had difficulty getting decent preliminary sketches that I could use. On the second run, I took a good bit of time looking at the building from a number of vantage points before starting sketching. I may have plumped too quickly for the viewpoint I chose, but I liked the contrast of the old and the new and how the buildings receded into the distance. I cheated here a bit because the lower part of the new buildings is blocked by a hoarding  whereas I drew in a path that leads away…not sure how correct this is compositionally.

Scale of buildings:

I think I got the scale fairly right but I don’t think it’s clear that the new buildings are a separate block behind and across the road from the old building.

Colour and atmosphere:

I this the drawings feel quite different  but both lack colour and atmosphere. I should probably have included some people in the Macroom sketch, given that it’s a market town. Not sure what I could convey about Old Quarter in Ballincollig, given it’s location on a ring road and the fact that most of the apartment blocks are unoccupied.

Drawing Statues

I drew a statue from a local church focusing on it and its context. The statue seems to loom out at you from the darkness of the church walls and is quite eerie.

There’s a beautiful bronze statue by Don Cronin of a bull in Macroom which I want to draw at some stage

Project   Drawing Trees.      

I love trees in all their different shapes and forms but found there is a world of difference in appreciating them and being able to do them justice.

Number of tree types:  I’ve drawn 6 types in these exercises with varying degrees of success ( two evergreen, silver birch, apple tree, beeches, a shrub  and a dead ash) and a further 2 in assignment 3. I’ve found I’m now much more aware of the form and tones of the different trees I see along the way.

Techniques to distinguish types :  generally outline, and thrust and tone of trunk and main branches and different marks and shading to mimic how the foliage is arranged – though context gives some information too. Given that it’s mid winter, many of the trees are bare, so a lot of focus went on their silhouettes. I’ll have to draw many of them again in Summer.

Conveying mass of foliage: it’s mid-winter, so I had to seek out some evergreens to do the foliage and outline exercises. I used a combination of mark making, repetitive shapes and light and shade to convey the mass of foliage.

Handling light on trees : I used highlights and shadow to depict strong light falling on the trees in the final assignment.

Selecting and simplifying: I think I went wrong by at first trying to draw the trees branch by branch with very stilted and disappointing results.

I left the exercises and came back to them fresh, this time trying to capture the feel of the tree and this worked much better.

TUTOR REPORT

Drawing Skills Learning Log : Assignment 2 - Observation in Nature

UPDATE SINCE ASSIGNMENT 1

I had difficulty getting to grips with a number of areas in Stage 2.
I have had no art training at school and really felt the lack of the basic skills and techniques in handling the different media. 
This, coupled with the high standard of work from the other students on the website,led to a crisis of confidence and I felt very daunted by all I have to learn.
I worked through it and completed all the projects but am wondering whether I should wait until I've had classes before going on (the good evening classes start again in late Sept), or should I keep going ( I'm beginning to enjoy it) and use the classes to help in the later stages.

In working through Stage 2, I tried to bear my tutor's feedback in mind, spending more time on observation and redrawing and standing back regularly to review. I certainly found this helped, though in the final assignment work I tried to be more scientific in my initial sketching of the various elements, made a mess of it and had to rub it all out and start from scratch.

I also was conscious of trying to vary the character of my line as suggested, but I think I tend to try different types of marks rather than showing variation in an individual line, and will need to do more work on this.

Finally, I did struggle with the coloured media : in the case of the fruit exercises I was too heavy handed, whereas in the flower exercises I was too timid. I also felt the final assignment drawing possibly needed stronger background tones to give it energy and pull it all together, but I didn't know what to do to correct this.

Assignment 2

I chose to do some objects I tried drawing in earlier exercises along with a jug of flowers.

In Assessment Submission

I think individual elements worked out ok but I’m not sure how to pull it all together.

I probably need to use more colour to give it coherence but I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.

I used pen and ink, watercolour pencil and water soluble wax pastels as these seemed most appropriate for the drawing and I really enjoyed using them.

At first I had some difficulty with getting the positioning of the different elements right and had to redraw a few times. I’m also still having a problem with perspective and had a number of goes at the window and shutter.

I tried not to leave too much negative space though the right hand side has a large space which I had hoped to use for dramatic shadows from the flowers, but I missed the chance and the sun had gone.

I was trying to create contrast between

• the roughness of the cones and shell and the smooth shine of the jug
• the definite lines of the other elements vs the softly drooping flowers
• the warm tones of the objects and the neutral tones of the wooden windowsill

Project Exploring coloured media

I wasn’t very comfortable with the exercise and felt a bit awkward just playing around with the different media.

I could see and feel the difference in the media but found it hard to work out what type of drawing they are most suited to – I did some drawings of a daffodil and this helped me to see the different effects you get from each.

Medium	Pros	Cons
Oil pastels	Strong rich colour with dark undertones Soft and fluid– goes on and layers easily	Sticky texture Hard to do detail
Conte Crayons	Strong rich colour – lighter undertone Soft – goes on and layers easily Can be rubbed/ smudged	Chalky / scratchy Needs to be fixed Less fluid
Wax Crayon	Goes on and gives coverage easily Can be layered and scratched back	Lacks depth
Watercolour pencils	Subtle range of colours Can be layered and blended Good for both detail and coverage Can do washes	Lacks intensity Takes time to build up
Soft pastels	Lovely hues Soft – goes on and layers easily Can be rubbed/ smudged	Needs to be fixed
Coloured marker	Strong definite lines Changes colour when layered	Not fluid Can look stilted
Ink	Vibrant colours Versatile – line, blobs, wash Good for both detail or coverage (wash)	Hard to correct mistakes Can be slow
Watersoluble wax pastels	Strong colours Soft –goes on easily Can do washes also	Doesn’t layer well Wash turns brown if too many colours used

Watercolour pencil

Soft Pastel

I found the watercolour pencils and soft pastels most expressive.
I love the way these can be blended and layered.

Ink

 I also love the versatility of the inks – detail, washes and blobs.

I think pen and ink lends itself best to detailed work.

Project : Detailed  Observation

I found

• marker good for  the line drawing as it gives strong definite lines
• fine pen good for the stipples and dots as it lends itself to small detailed marks

Doing the line drawing was harder than I thought, as in my first few drawings the proportions were way off. This only improved when I spent more time looking at the object and assessing where the different parts were relative to each other, before I started to draw.

I chose soft pencil for the tonal exercises but struggled here, not due to the medium I chose but because I couldn’t seem to get enough contrast in my range of tonal values. I did a number of unsuccessful drawings of some driftwood, but finally gave up and tried drawing some shells in pencil then soft pastels which seemed to work better.

Hatching , cross hatching and stippling are all good for creating tone along with the use of strong and broken lines. I just seem to put in too many marks and have too few light areas.

While I would have expected to enjoy the broad brush sketches most, I really enjoyed the detailed work, particularly the stippling exercise where I drew a dead rose bush and the tonal drawings of shells

In all cases I could improve the composition by giving the items some context – I’ve tended to draw things in a vacuum.

Project : Still Life

Doing the line drawing was harder than I thought, as in my first few drawings the proportions were way off. This only improved when I spent more time looking at the object and assessing where the different parts were relative to each other, before I started to draw.

I tried soft pastels for the still life group in tone but didn't achieve great depth.

U	What Worked	Problematic	What gave a sense of depth	Difficulties with approach
L   Line	Very definite outlines and shapes. Also a sense of the different textures	Getting a sense of depth. Focussing too much on detail and composition was too small for the page. Feels static	Using different types of line : thin and thick, broken and unbroken, close together and widely spaced. Overlapping objects helped also	Balancing working in detail with still getting the bigger picture right. Lack of   shading means drawing feels very flat
TT  Tone	Can see definite areas of light and shade gives the drawing a fuller feeling and more energy	Drawing detail. Representing texture.	Using contrasts of light and shade. Using different types of marks. An attempt at usin g perspective	Initially found it hard to perceive the different tonal areas – saw colours rather than tones

Project : Drawing Fruit and Vegetables in Colour.

I expected to really enjoy this but actually found this project very difficult for a number of reasons

• I struggled to draw the basic shapes and outlines
• I couldn’t get the cross hatching right : I kept overdoing it. I tried looking at how other people had drawn things and got completely confused myself

Watercolour pencil



Wax pastel

• 
  

I struggled with many of the different media – I hadn’t used them before and wasn’t at all confident using them.

Marker and dip pen

I was surprised though at the vibrancy of the marker and dip pen drawings.

Marker and dip pen

My compositions take up too little of the page with lots of negative space left all around.

I also tend to do the same type over and over (whole plate plus some fruit) instead of showing the fruit in different contexts.

I now understand that the different fruits have a distinctive shapes, forms and textures which you use colour to represent – I just have difficulty executing along these principles.

Project : Drawing Plants and Flowers

I really enjoyed the exercise on negative space.

I had to have a few goes at it and again had best results when I spent time looking and assessing and identifying key areas and shapes before I started.

I used a graphite stick which was great for coverage, the only problem being I kept smudging the white areas and had to go over them with an eraser later.

I also enjoyed the drawing exercises, but couldn’t seem to get any life into my drawings.

Coloured pencil

I put the flowers in context on the window sill – problem – couldn’t get the window right and also have no idea how I should represent the window without drawing the whole garden and distracting from the flowers.

Ink and watercolour pencil

To draw the plants in proportion, I sized them up within the composition beforehand, both relative to the overall size of the drawing and also different parts of the plants to each other.

Ballpoint and wax crayon

I tried but think I failed to get a 3 D effect. I focussed to much on line detail with too little emphasis on light and shade and this was exacerbated by my also being too timid with colour.

On the plus side, I enjoyed trying out different media and am more conscious of leaving less negative space.

Project : Drawing animals

I thoroughly enjoyed this project, stalking our cat unashamedly with my small sketchbook.

I was surprised though at the beginning how hard it was to get to anything that looked remotely like any cat – never mind our particular cat, but I did make progress over time.

Main challenges were honing in on the key features, poses and overall texture and then to represent these without drawing every hair on the body.

On a practical note, she’s a young cat and rarely stays still so most of my drawings are of her when she was asleep

Marker

I had little success with pen or marker: at that stage I wasn’t familiar enough with observing and drawing her.

Best results were with soft pencil and latterly graphite stick – these were fluid which helped when I had to draw quickly.

I haven’t drawn a moving animal yet but plan to do more animal drawing – hopefully some of the birds in the garden will be suitable eg rooks, which potter around for a while in the mornings.

As I live in the country, I should also get the chance to try out some cattle and horses when I’m more confident.

In Assessment Submission

I also really liked the fish drawing, both the observation and practice using inks and watercolour pencils which I’m becoming more confident with.

In Assessment Submission

Post Script : I've since learnt to use soft pastels and did a drawing of a squirrel on a tree trunk based on a photo from the Fota Park magazine. I know we're not supposed to draw from photos but when it comes to wild animals it's probably my only option until I'm more accomplished. I was keen to capture by the liveliness of the squirrel and the colour and textural contrasts.


TUTOR REPORT